TRAVEL TROUBLESHOOTER

Unclean hotel room: Take it or leave it?

Q. I'm trying to get some compensation for a hotel stay that didn't meet my expectations. All I've gotten so far is an empty apology. I hope you can do better.

I recently stayed at the Howard Johnson Oceanfront Plaza Hotel in Ocean City, Md. When I arrived at the hotel early on a Friday morning, the room was not cleaned, the bed was not made from the previous occupants and there were no pillowcases.

I went to the front desk and was told they were booked during my stay and the room couldn't be cleaned until the next day. I reluctantly agreed to sleep in the room.

I spoke with the head of housekeeping, the manager on duty the morning we checked in, the manager on duty Saturday morning and the manager on duty Sunday when we checked out. Every time I tried to get a resolution, I was told there was nothing that could be done. My only option was to go to another hotel and forfeit my money for the remainder of the stay. I endured the stay.

I contacted Howard Johnson customer service to inform them of my stay. I received an e-mail from them that said my complaint was forwarded to the general manager of the franchise for review and I would get a response. The hotel replied with a form apology. That was six months ago. Any suggestions?

-- Erin Hott, Waynesboro, Pa.

A. Ewww. You slept in an unmade bed? Someone should give you an award for the most accommodating hotel guest. Ever.

Obviously -- and I can't believe I have to point this out -- Howard Johnson should have offered you a clean room. If it mistakenly gave you the key to a room with an unmade bed, it should have offered to change your sheets. It doesn't matter what time of the day or night you check in -- clean sheets are the bare minimum.

When I received your letter, my first response was disbelief. I asked you why you didn't protest the conditions in your room more loudly. You say you did, but that the hotel staff was equally insistent that they couldn't clean the room and that your only other option was to leave but that you still would be charged for the room.

As always, your best bet is to resolve the problem right there and then. It might have been helpful to contact Howard Johnson at the corporate level.

To underscore the seriousness of your grievance -- and trust me, this was serious -- you could have copied Maryland's Consumer Protection Division (consumer@oag.state.md.us). I think it would be interested in your story. If nothing else, it would have signaled to Howard Johnson that you didn't intend to let this go.

By agreeing to stay in an unclean room, you limited your chances of resolving this grievance. Once you check out, a hotel is far less likely to compensate you for a substandard stay. One way to light a fire under it is to rope the corporate office into each complaint and subsequent rebuttal. Many hotels fine a franchisee that ignores a customer complaint.

So don't accept the handoff to the hotel by the hotel chain. Keep corporate Howard Johnson in the loop because that keeps pressure on the individual hotel.

I contacted the hotel on your behalf. A representative contacted you and admitted that the hotel had experienced some housekeeping problems while you were a guest. Howard Johnson refunded $131 to your credit card.

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Christopher Elliott is the ombudsman for National Geographic Traveler magazine. Read more travel tips on his blog, elliott.org, or e-mail him at celliott@ngs.org.